22nd of Shvat - the yohrtzeit of Rebetzin Chaya Mushka

Today, the 22nd day of Shvat, is the anniversary of the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson.
She was the daughter of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, and wife of the Rebbe.

The Rebbetzin exerted a powerful influence on Chabad-Lubavitch, but remained outside of the limelight.
An intelligent and educated wise woman, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka carried the mantle of her exalted position in a most humble and unpretentious way.

Yet, despite her extraordinary role – as unknown as it was to the public – and her regal upbringing and bearing, it seems that she always found common ground with those who came to her. She made sure to make each one feel comfortable and heard, as she displayed much sensitivity towards them.

Following their wedding, the Rebbe and the Rebetzin lived in Berlin but when the Nazi regime took power, they fled to Paris. But when France was invaded by the German forces, they then fled to the south of France. In the course of their flight, there was a devastating bombardment. As people ran in every direction, the Rebetzin noticed an explosive shell heading towards a man that was next to her. She quickly pushed the man to the ground, thereby saving his life. Recounting this story the Rebetzin said, "True, I saved his life, but for pushing a Jew, one must repent."

In the days and months following her passing, the Rebbe spoke frequently on the theme, "And the living shall take to heart". The Rebbe explained that the passing of a person close to oneself should prompt one to positive action, in the form of lessons derived from that person's life and G-dly deeds undertaken to perpetuate his or her memory; then the death itself becomes a form of life.

Therefore, for the sake and in memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka's soul we should increase and make good resolutions in the areas of Prayer, Torah Study and Tzedaka/good deeds.

Womens Three Mitzvot......

At the core of life exists three things: Food, Shelter, and Family.

At the core of Judaism exists a question: is life about me, or something beyond myself?

The Jewish woman is privileged to take the helm of three Mitzvot which demonstrate that life is not about me, but about something greater than myself.

The Three Mitzvot are:

1. The Mitzvah of Challah. When baking bread, before having any for yourself a section of the dough must be set aside for the priest, the Kohen. By doing so, the woman demonstrates her appreciation to G-d for giving her food; and only after, does she tend to her own needs.

Challah says: Food is not about what I need; it is about helping me live to fulfill what I am needed for.

2. The Shabbat Candles. All mitzvot bring light to the world but the light is not necessarily visible to the naked eye as it is with the Mitzvah of lighting a Shabbat candle.

Every Jewish home is a miniature Temple. Like the High Priest, the woman is charged with illuminating her miniature Temple. Shabbat is a testimony of G-d’s creation and G-d’s love for the Jewish people. And the Shabbat candles are a testimony that G-d is present in this home.

The Shabbat Candles say: This is not just a house. This is a Sanctuary in which the Divine resides.

3. Family Purity: Family purity laws teach us that physical intimacy is a holy activity and a way of serving G-d.
This Mitzvah sets the rhythm to make marital relations holy. At the core of these laws is the Mitzvah of Mikvah, the waters of purity and life. Observance of this Mitzvah brings blessings to the entire family.

Family purity says: My body is Divine, it enables me to create, nurture and give.

Judaism is a mission. We were employed by G-d to reveal the Divine in nature, and to bring heaven down to earth.

These three Mitzvot remain at the forefront of insuring Jewish continuity and expedite the Jewish journey toward the Promised Era of the righteous Moshiach!

One good deed in this world.....

"One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than the whole life of the World to Come." So promise our wise sages.

And why is this so?

G-d compressed and lowered His Will and Wisdom and clothed them in the physical terms and material things which comprise nearly all of the Torah's holy commandments.

And what is the ultimate purpose of the Divine's radical descent into the very lowest world in which we humans reside?

Every soul is given the rarest of opportunities: to grasp, to bond, and to unite with G-d Himself, by engaging the soul's garments of thought, speech, and action in the study and comprehension of the Torah, and the fulfillment of the 'mitzvot.'

No such precious, essential, light-giving, and life-giving union and embrace between the soul and G-d Himself occurs in the World to Come as it can down here! There, each soul can comprehend and enjoy only a glimmer of the Divine Light, while here we can grasp the actual essence of G-d!

Let us be humbled and inspired by this amazing spiritual phenomenon, and take full advantage of our unique ability to literally bring Heaven down to Earth. We can accomplish this by learning about and being involved with the Torah and its mitzvot. We will thereby manifest the most incredible love affair possible in our lifetime: a holy intimacy, unlike any other, between the essence of who we are, i.e. our souls, and the essence of G-d Himself!

Prayer - The Shema

In the Shema we proclaim our belief in the unity of G-d, and express our love for G-d "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." You, as an individual, cannot truly love G-d when your animal soul loves something else.
But as you go through the processes of prayer, your animal soul begins to recognize that maybe its first love should be G-d. And maybe it shouldn't stand in the way of the G-dly soul. And then you can love G-d b'chol l'vovcha, "with all your heart(s)."
The Talmud comments that the expression l'vovcha denotes a double heart. And the Talmud remarks that this is because your heart is split. One set of emotions, one heart, is guided and inspired by your G-dly soul, another set is guided by your animal soul. It's not enough that your G-dly soul loves G-d; your animal soul has to feel this love of G-d, too.
When you say the Shema, ideally, this is what you should be expressing - not only the love of G-d through your G-dly soul, but also your basic animal nature's love of G-d.

Moshiach's times....delicacies.. like dust.

Our Sages describe the Messianic Era as a time of wondrous abundance. The Talmud states, "In the future the Land of Israel will produce ready-made cakes and fine woolen garments," And, according to Maimonides,"The good will be in abundance and delicacies will be like dust."

At first glance, it would seem that all of this abundance will serve no purpose. After all, one of the main reasons for the Messianic Era is that G-dliness will be revealed in the world and there will be unbounded spirituality. In such a situation, won't all of our desires be for holiness and spirituality?? As Maimonides explains: "The occupation of the entire world will be only to know G-d." Who, then, will be interested in all of these mundane things that will be in the world?

Maimonides hints at this when he says, "Delicacies will be like dust." All of the wondrous, physical delicacies will be of the same value to us as dust. We will be occupied with much loftier things--like understanding G-d. If this is so, what are we going to need all of the abundance for?

According to Maimonides, all of the material blessings for keeping mitzvot that the Torah promises us --before the Messianic Era--are not simply a reward. Rather, our ultimate reward is something greater than physical gifts. Having everything we need simply takes away many of life's difficulties, making it easier to observe the mitzvot.

This helps us understand why there will be abundant material resources. Since we won't have to worry about mundane matters, we will be free to pursue G-dlinesss with the mindfulness of one unhampered by worldly cares.

Additionally, the abundance of materialism in the Messianic Era, will be a revelation of G-d's unlimited energy that will be expressed not only in the spiritual realms but on a mundane, material level, as well.

Previous Rebbe meeting with Bashkov

Rebbe Yosef Yitzchok Shneerson, known as the previous Rebbe, once went to Moscow. There after hearing reports of his secret workers, and giving them advice and encouragement, he was asked if Mark Bashkov, an official from the head office of the GPU communist party, can meet with him in his hotel room.

Bashkov told the Rebbe, that his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were Lubavitcher Chasidim. As a child he learned Torah, but then stopped. He eventually joined the Socialist Party and had risen through the ranks of the KGB to become one of the highest officials in the country.

In the middle of their conversation, the door burst opened and policemen with guns barged in. "Citizen Schneersohn, you are under arrest! If you make one move, you will be shot. Give us your bags!"

When they had finished searching the previous Rebbe's belongings, they turned to Bashkov. "Now it's your turn, Comrade. We'll see if you are one of Schneersohn's men."

Bashkov red with anger answered calmly. "Comrades! I'm sure that you know the law. Before you go through someone's private belongings, you have to show him a search warrant. I want you to show me these papers."

"I am an agent of the Yevsektsia" shouted one of them to Bashkov, " Who are you to ask me about papers? If you resist, we will blow you away."

Bashkov then took out an identity card, which described him as a member of the head office of the Soviet secret police. When the men saw this, they turned pale. Bashkov asked them for their papers. He wrote down their names and told them to appear at GPU headquarters. "There you will learn how to conduct a search," said Bashkov.

Bashkov apologized to the Previous Rebbe for everything that had happened. If any of the agents of the Yevsektsia ever bothered him again, the Rebbe should let him know. Bashkov then said good-bye to the Rebbe and left.

The Previous Rebbe thought about everything that had happened, truly an example of Divine Providence. Had he not met Bashkov when he did, and if Bashkov was not who he was, the whole story would have ended very differently. The Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak wrote in his diary, "I saw G-dliness itself revealed before me."

The Chozeh of Lublin's clock

In one of his travels, chassidic master Rabbi Dov Ber of Radoshitz stayed the night at a wayside inn. In the morning, he eagerly sought out the innkeeper.

"The clock," he started excitedly, "the clock you have hanging in my room -- where is it from? Where did you get that wonderful clock?"

"Why," replied the surprised innkeeper, "it's quite an ordinary clock. There are hundreds like it hanging in homes around the country."

"No, no," insisted Rabbi Dov Ber. "This is no ordinary clock. You must find out for me where this clock comes from."

If only to humor his righteous guest, the innkeeper made some inquiries, which yielded the information that this clock once belonged to the famed "Seer of Lublin". An heir of the "Seer" had been forced by poverty to sell all his possessions, and so the clock passed from owner to owner until it came to hang in one of the guestrooms of the inn.

"Of course!" exclaimed Rabbi Dov Ber upon hearing the clock's history. "This clock could only have belonged to the 'Seer of Lublin.' Only the Seer's clock could mark time in such a manner!

"A standard clock," he explained to his bewildered host, "strikes such a mournful tone. 'Another hour of your life has passed you by,' it says. 'You are now one hour closer to the grave.' But this clock joyfully proclaims: 'Another hour of exile has gone by. You are now one hour closer to the coming of Moshiach and the Redemption...'

"All through the night," concluded Rabbi Dov Ber, "whenever this clock sounded the hour, I leaped from my bed and danced with ecstasy."

Creating a road map for moshiach's times...

When creating the world, G-d started out with His final objective in mind. Hence, the wish for a brighter future and the hope for a world of peace, harmony, and prosperity are universal. Judaism believes that this hope and vision lies at the core of creation—and of every human soul. We refer to this ultimate goal as the Geulah, the Redemption, which will be ushered in by Moshiach.

What can we do to make this future a reality? The first thing is to simply become aware of this inner desire and hope. The more aware we are of this desire, and the more clearly we see this goal, the more it will positively influence our actions—which will then make our aspirations a concrete reality.

And so, we must begin by envisioning the ultimate objective as clearly as possible, and then use that focal point to design a course of action that will guide our decisions.
The Rebbe teaches that it is not enough for us to envision and hope for Moshiach, we must also create a plan to get us there. A road map.

One of the most basic achievements that will be reached during the Messianic Era will be the spiritual purification of the environment.
In order to bring this achievement about, we must do whatever we can to purify our own environment and create a wholesome spiritual atmosphere.
We do this primarily by learning, thinking, and speaking words of Torah.
Start now in your corner and before you know it, the entire world will be purified.

Making the supernatural - our nature.

The Alter Rebbe once explained the verse: “Know what is above you” to mean "Know that everything “above" in the supernal realms, all comes “from you”—it all depends on man’s efforts."

Miracles are not necessary for Mashiach to prove himself, and in fact, in the beginning of the redemption, need not occur. However, there are many miracles that are necessary for the complete redemption. Each of these miracles is somehow a direct outcome or symptom of the changes that Mashiach will bring to the world and to man.
Ultimately, however, all of the miracles of Mashiach — as fantastic as they may be — have to start with us. We need to change the way we live our lives, and the way we see the world. When we transcend our nature and live a supernatural life, we open up the realm of supernatural possibilities.
Here are some specific examples that the Rebbe suggests for transcending our natures, and making the supernatural, our nature:
1. To constantly add and grow in our Torah study and performance of Mitzvot.
2. To appreciate the essential value of action, of mitzvot, of a Jew, and of everything in life.
3. And, perhaps most of all, to fill your life with joy—for joy breaks all barriers.

Parshas Shmois - We are like stars...

The name of this week's Torah portion, identical to that of the second of the five books of Torah, is "Shemot" ("Names"). This is because this Torah portion starts off with once again mentioning the names of the tribes.

The names of the tribes have previously been mentioned numerous times in the Torah. Why are they listed here once again?

Rashi explains that this teaches us how precious the Children of Israel are to G-d, for in His eyes they are compared to the stars which He counts and calls by name time and time again.

Why are we, the Children of Israel, compared to stars?

Stars shine brightly in the night sky. By their light, a person who walks in the darkness of the night will not lose his or her way. Similarly, every Jew, man or woman, possesses enough moral and spiritual light to positively influence their peers and guide them to the proper path.

Additionally, despite the great distance between us and the stars, we are able to see them and benefit from their light.
If we utilize the strength G-d gave us, we have the ability - like stars - to illuminate not merely our immediate environment, but the entire world! Every single deed is important. One action, one word or one thought of one individual can have an influence on the entire world!

As Maimonides instructs, one should always consider that he and the entire world are being judged by G-d and that the scales of justice are even.
One mitzvah, one good deed, can tip the scale to the side of merit and bring redemption to the entire world!

Deep Concentration - Learning Torah....

Shlomo HaMelach (King Solomon) writes that a person should be so occupied with his love for Torah, that one drop all affairs in order to run and learn Torah.

The Rebbe related the following story to teach us that when one delves into something deeply, he can reach a point where he does not even notice what's happening around him.

"Once, the Mozhitzer Rebbe was in need of an operation, but the doctors were afraid that in his weak state he would not be able to handle the pain. The Mozhitzer Rebbe suggested that they allow him to sing a Niggun (a chassidic song), wait until he is fully absorbed in it, and then operate on him. This way, he would not feel anything. The doctors followed his instructions, and amazingly, everything went smoothly!

Here is another story illustrating the deep concentration we can, and ought to attain.

One winter, Reb Yosef from the city of Lubavitch, traveled in a horse drawn sled on a dangerously slippery and bumpy path. The sled shook violently and swayed from side to side, eventually causing Reb Yosef to fall overboard into the snow. Unfortunately, the driver did not notice and continued on without him. And Reb Yosef? So immersed in deep concentration was he, that he felt not a thing of the freezing snow in which he was sitting. A while later, a group of Chassidim passed by and saw Reb Yosef sitting in the snow. When asked what he was doing there, he looked surprised and replied, "I am on my way to Lubavitch."

Now that's deep concentration.

We Can Control Our Thoughts....

A chassid once came to Rabbi DovBer, the "Maggid" of Mezeritch.

"Rebbe," he said, " When the Almighty commands us to do a certain deed or refrain from a certain act, I understand that however difficult it may be, I can do what G-d commanded because we all have free choice - to do something or not to. The same with speech, it is within my power to decide which words will leave my mouth and which will not.

"But what I find hard to understand is when the Torah forbids us to entertain thoughts that are destructive and wrong. Can a person really control his thoughts??"

"Go to my disciple, Rabbi Zev" said the Maggid, "He can answer your question."

And so the chassid made the trip through the snow-covered forests of White Russia. He arrived at Rabbi Zev's doorstep late into the night. To his happy surprise, there was a light shining through the window and he could see Rabbi Zev bent over his books.

He knocked on the door expectantly, but there was no response. He knocked louder, but there was still no response. As the night wore on, and he got colder and colder, he kept pounding on the door. But Rabbi Zev was seemingly oblivious to the banging on the door-just a few feet away-and continued to study his books.

After a while of this unusual behavior, Rabbi Zev suddenly rose from his seat, opened the door, and warmly greeted his freezing visitor. He prepared a hot glass of tea for him and inquired after the health of their Rebbe.

"Actually, our Rebbe was the one who sent me to you" the confused Chassid said, " saying that you could answer a question that I've been troubled by for some time. I simply cannot understand how it is that we are expected to really control what enters our thoughts!"

"I just gave you my answer", said Reb Zev, smiling. "Though you knocked incessantly on my door, I did not open up for you to come in. In my home, I am the boss. Whomever I wish to admit -- I allow in; and whomever I do not wish to admit -- I do not allow entry."

We are our own boss!
We have the power to control who, or what, enters our thoughts!